Earlier this week, “portly, drug-addled hate muppet” Rush Limbaugh floated the conspiracy theory that Batman villain Bane was named as a character-damning reference to Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital. Oh, I’m sorry, what he actually said, in his weasel words way, was, “The villain in The Dark Knight Rises is named Bane, B-a-n-e. What is the name of the venture capital firm that Romney ran and around which there’s now this make-believe controversy? Bain… Do you think that it is accidental that the name of the really vicious fire breathing four eyed whatever it is villain in this movie is named Bane?”

Hmm, do I think it is accidental that radio windbags like to ask if something is “accidental” or a “coincidence” before making up imbecilic conspiracies they can then disown with the excuse that they were only asking if somebody else thought it was a conspiracy? I don’t know, is it an accident that I’m not wearing pants right now, while it’s a known fact that politicians usually wear pants and constantly lie? So would it be safe to say I’m probably telling the truth because I’m pantsless? (No, it wouldn’t, but that’s typical radio conspiracy theorist logic for you.)

For the record, the Batman villain Bane was introduced in January 1993, before Mitt Romney had ever run for the Senate. There’s also that whole thing about bane having an actual dictionary definition (“a person or thing that ruins or spoils”), something that you’d think a man who uses words for a living might f–king understand. But let’s be real: Rush Limbaugh is a troll from way back. He knows he’s saying patently stupid things to get attention and to rile up anyone stupid enough to think it was a valid point. Who actually listens to his show? It’s like the NCIS of radio: apparently popular, seemingly never cancelled, and yet I’ve never met anyone who admits to being a fan.

Limbaugh’s senseless conspiracy has already triggered a parody Twitter and numerous photoshops. Now Chris Nolan (director of The Dark Knight Rises) and Conan O’Brian (ginger giant) have weighed in as well. Nolan simply responded, “I’m not sure how to address something that bizarre, to be honest. I really don’t have an answer for it. It’s a very particular comment to make.”

At least Conan O’Brien had fun with it, making this re-cut version of a Dark Knight Rises trailer:

Wow, you guys. This villain created before Mitt Romney was even a politician is totally a conspiracy to damage Mitt Romney’s future political campaigns. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.

You’re wrong. Rush was commenting on the media’s obsession the previous 72 hours with the similarities of the 2 names, as well as a Washington Times article about it. Rush actually belittled the press for thinking people could be dumb enough to fall for it. While he is uninitiated in the lore of the books, don’t blame the man for something he himself was ridiculing.